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PG. 1 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
CIVILEngineer Fort Worth
summer 2021
UPCOMING EVENTS
Branch Meetings:
September 20, 2021
Reata Restaurant
Speaker TBA
October 2021
Location TBA
Speaker TBA
November 2021
Location TBA
Speaker TBA
vol. 14 iss. 4 Fort Worth Branch ASCE Newsletter
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hello from the Fort Worth Branch of ASCE! I hope y’all have had a
great summer so far and continue to enjoy it with family and
friends.
For our July branch meeting we always participate in the joint
meeting with the Dallas Branch. This year it was our turn to host,
and I think it went very well. We had over 800 views with 160
unique viewers. This speaks to the involvement of our membership.
We had presentations from all the major technical areas including
ethics (which we all need before we renew our licenses). Russell
Laughlin, the Executive Vice President for Hillwood, gave our key-
note presentation on the future of logistics and mobility. It is im-
portant for all of us as engineers to fully understand where our fu-
ture is taking us. I truly am grateful for all the presenters and the
time they took out of their days to pre-record their presentations. I
also want to thank the Dallas Branch for their help in promoting the
meeting and finding presenters with us. This is truly a joint effort.
We are nearing the end of all the COVID restrictions and are look-
ing to start in-person meetings again for the September branch
meeting! We are so glad to get back to normal and be able to social-
ize with each other in person. That being said, we will not have an
August branch meeting as we take this time to enjoy a summer
break.
With everything getting back to normal, we are also on track to start
the new fiscal year in September. We will be installing new officers
for the branch for the start of the new fiscal year. Andrea Taylor will
be your new branch president and I am fully confident that she will
lead our branch through a great year. I want to thank all y’all for
making this past fiscal year a success even in the midst of a global
pandemic. Our successes are a testament to the incredible member-
ship that we have.
Thanks,
Andrew Wilson
ASCE Fort Worth Branch President
PG. 2 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
Meetings From the Previous Quarter
May Branch Meeting
Location: Virtual Zoom Meeting
Speaker: Travis Attanasio, PE, of the
City of Haslet
Topic: A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to
Waste
Attendance: 29
July Branch Meeting—
Joint FW/Dallas Meeting
Location: FW ASCE YouTube
Channel
Speaker: Russel Laughlin of
Hillwood
Topic: Mobility Innovation Zone
Attendance: 160
In 1940, the beautiful, slender, and flexible Tacoma
Narrows Bridge opened near Tacoma, Washington.
It was the third-longest suspension bridge in the
world. As the workers began to install the deck it
began to bounce, so they named it “Galloping Gur-
tie.”
After completion it was quite the attraction. Not for
its aesthetics, but because it was a carnival ride for
those who drove across. Six months after opening,
the bridge experienced 42 mph winds which caused
vertical and lateral twisting to achieve harmonic
resonance. Vertical pitch reached 28 feet and the
deck tilted 45 degrees repeatedly. Then it collapsed.
A dog in an abandoned car was the only fatality.
After the failure, bridge historian David Billington noted that among modern bridge engineers "there seemed to be almost
no recognition that wind created vertical movement at all." They were oblivious to the history of bridges stiffened against
wind pressure. The "historical perspective seemed to have been replaced by a visual preference unrelated to structural
engineering," he added.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge engineers didn’t learn from previous successes and failures, but those who followed them
did. British engineer W.T.F. Austin said, “The whole of bridge engineering has profited by the fall of the Narrows bridge.”
Post-failure studies identified the design flaws, and designers applied the lessons learned to the replacement (1950)
named “Sturdy Gurtie,” and its parallel lanes bridge (2007).
A smart team remembers and learns from the past. “You have to make reflection part of the way work is done.” The U.S.
Army calls this an “After Action Review.” It reflects on the questions: What happened? What did we expect? What can we
learn? Your team’s post-project reviews add to your knowledge and likelihood of success.
Here are some guidelines as you reflect on lessons learned: avoid the blame game and excuse-making, be authentic by
listening carefully and offering what you know, dig out the plain facts and be constructive, and include relevant lessons
learned in project planning and kick-off meetings.
Document and review your lessons learned and you will have less Galloping Gurties and more Sturdy Gurties in your pro-
ject portfolio.
Mentor’s Minute By: Wayne E. Fowler, PE, Principal, Teague Nall and Perkins
June Branch Meeting
Location: Virtual Zoom Meeting
Speaker: Ty Thompson of the City of
Fort Worth
Topic: City of Fort Worth Design
Manual Updates
Attendance: 97
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - Jorge Santayana
PG. 3 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
Branch Leadership Spotlight: Florencia Rangel
We can’t wait to see you in person THIS
September! If you have any ideas you’d like
to share, please email Allison Stamper
([email protected]) or Brandon
Oliver ([email protected]). Watch our
social media pages for a Welcome Back
event! We’re on LinkedIn, Facebook, and
Instagram!
This section highlights viewpoints from budding fu-
ture civil engineers. This issue features Florencia
Rangel — here are a few facts to help you get to know
her a little better!
What company do you work for? Teague Nall &
Perkins in the transportation/roadway design field.
What is your role in ASCE? I am currently the
Fort Worth branch golf tournament chair.
What college did you attend?
Texas Tech
What brought you to the civil engineering
profession and ASCE? Prior to college, I had the
opportunity to help rebuild/construct an elementary
school in a developing country. I was so amazed with
the process, experience, and the product of what my
team had accomplished that I decided to pursue civil
engineering. Not knowing 100% of what civil engi-
neering entailed, I joined ASCE to surround myself
with like minded individuals I could grow and learn
from.
What is something you see changing in the industry? In
all honesty, you could pull out archives and see the overall blue-
prints have not changed much, but the technology has. We are now
able to build 3-D models of the roadway to have an idea of what the
design would look like after construction.
What would you like to learn from PE’s or mentors? I am
interested in design and project management issues engineers have
encountered during their career and what strategies they used to
overcome them. I’d also like to know if they listen to certain pod-
casts or read any books that have helped them in leadership, daily
life, or even self-improvement.
Did you have any internships? How did that aid your ca-
reer? I had two internships in construction. The first in heavy civil
working on I-35 and the second in commercial construction on the
American Airlines Headquarters in DFW. I believe these internship
experiences aided my career by giving me the hands-on field expe-
rience of how plans are constructed and inspected for approval.
PG. 4 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
PE Spotlight: Niraj Acharya
This section highlights the PE journey and provides insight for young engineers into the rewarding opportunities
of a career in civil engineering. This issue features Niraj Acharya, PE—here are a few facts to help you get to know
him a little better!
Where and in what field of civil engineering do you work? I am the Director of Business Development
(with a background in Water Resources Engineering) for TNP, Inc.
What is your role in ASCE? I’ve had many. I previously served as several chair and board positions and, ulti-
mately, was the president in 2017/2018. I now serve as the Continuing Education Chair.
What college did you attend? UT Arlington for both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering
(Go Mavs!)
What brought you to the civil engineer-
ing profession? My father, who is now a re-
tired structural engineer, encouraged me to
consider civil engineering because of my inter-
est how infrastructure projects get built. I fol-
lowed his advice and pursued a Civil Engineer-
ing degree at UTA. There, I joined the student
chapter of ASCE to network and become better
acquainted with the profession. As a profes-
sional, I continue to support and attend
FWASCE meetings and events.
What are some lessons learned in your
career you wish you learned earlier on?
I would highly recommend all young engineers
focus not only on being strong technically, but
also focus on becoming strong writers and pub-
lic presenters. These are skills that will pay div-
idends as you progress in your career.
What software/programs do you fre-
quently use or recommend for young
engineers to learn? For stormwater engi-
neering, I used software such as HEC-HMS,
HEC-RAS, XPSWMM, AutoCAD and ArcGIS
extensively to analyze and design projects. As a manager, I used Microsoft Project and financial tracking applica-
tions a lot. I would recommend others gain proficiency in as many different types of design and management soft-
ware as possible – there are so many. When combined properly, you can really expedite and enhance project de-
livery.
Is there a project from your career you would like to share? I’ve had the fortune of working on several
cool projects, but the ones I am most proud of are the series of neighborhood flood improvement projects on
which I consulted the City of Arlington. On each of these projects, we were able to use advanced modeling tech-
niques to resolve some extreme flooding conditions for residents.
What aspects of the civil engineering field have you seen evolve over the last few years and what
do you think will change in the future? As a society, we have moved nearly exclusively to mobile communi-
cations and computing platforms. We are already seeing the benefits of this as we’ve been struck by a pandemic. I
believe these innovations will continue to improve and impact the way we work with clients and deliver infrastruc-
ture projects.
What advice would you give to young engineers? Network. Network. Network. Its important.
PG. 5 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
Treasurer’s Report
We has a successful virtual joint
meeting with the Dallas Branch, We
raised $1,935 for the scholarship
fund and $1,935 for the Tarrant
County Food Bank. Thank you to all
of our presenters and participants!
Edmund Friedman Young Engineer of the Year
Lindsay Lafferty, PE was selected as the 2021 Edmund Friedman Young Engineer of the Year by the Fort Worth
Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. This award recognizes young members of ASCE that exhibit
outstanding contributions to the public welfare of the civil engineering profession.
Lindsay currently serves as the Newsletter Chair and a Director on the
Board for the Fort Worth Branch. Lindsay consistently provides
branch members with an amazing newsletter that contains valuable
professional content and event updates to keep all members in-
formed.
Lindsay graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a
bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Upon graduation, she began
working at Baird, Hampton and Brown - a multi-disciplinary firm
that provides the integrated services of civil, structural, and MEP en-
gineering, as well as land surveying and landscape architecture. Lind-
say currently has four years of experience in the land development
field and has worked on a wide range of projects including those in
the municipal, industrial, and higher education sectors.
In her free time, Lindsay enjoys baking, rock climbing, and spending
time outdoors with her family and dog.
On behalf of the Fort Worth Branch, congratulations Lindsay! The
Fort Worth Branch thanks you for all your hard work as you continue
to uplift our profession, society, and branch.
Newly Licensed PE’s!
Congratulations to all of the Fort Worth Branch’s
Make sure to check in with our membership chair
Brandon Oliver ([email protected]) about getting
your branch membership status updated!
A note from Lindsay: Virtual meetings have their own unique set of pros and cons—one major downside in this
setting is the inability for me to personally thank the Fort Worth Branch members and leadership for the honor of
accepting the Young Engineer of the Year award.
I’ve had the privilege of being involved in ASCE at multiple levels; first through the student chapter at UTA and
now at the professional level with the Fort Worth Branch. It’s not always easy to put yourself into a room full of
unfamiliar people and make connections, but I’ve found my membership in ASCE to be more meaningful than I
ever imagined. In the years I have been involved in ASCE I have seen several leaders come before me, setting an
example of what it means to be a valuable member of our profession and society. I am continually inspired by the
dedication and commitment shown by those involved in ASCE, and I have each of you to thank for encouraging me
to set and achieve lofty goals.
It is truly an honor to be recognized as the Fort Worth Branch’s Young Engineer of the Year. I look forward to see-
ing the Fort Worth Branch continue to flourish and provide value to its membership in the years to come. I hope to
see you all in person soon!
PG. 6 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
Company Corner: TranSystems
This section highlights cur-
rent civil engineering projects
designed by companies in the
DFW area. This issue features
TranSystems and their work
on the BNSF Alliance Inter-
modal Facility.
Alliance, Texas is an unparal-
leled regional success story
that has transformed the
North Texas economy and
connected the area to global
industry. Due to substantial
growth within the distribution
and warehousing space in the
Fort Worth market, BNSF in-
creased capacity at its Alliance
Intermodal Facility, which
includes new production
tracks and incremental park-
ing stalls and new lift equip-
ment.
A multi-phase project involving more than 1,200-acres of development to effectively absorb forecasted yearly
lifts of 1.4 million lifts per year, the project includes reconfiguring and retrofitting the existing Alliance Inter-
modal Facility (IMF) with a new three-track rubber tire gantry crane module, parking expansions to the east, a
new inbound and outbound Automated Gate Systems (AGS), new fueling facilities, and a new employee and ad-
ministration building. The project also includes a 6-mile mainline relocation, lead extensions, and a reconfigura-
tion and repurposing of the existing BNSF North Yard. Future phases include a wide-span crane module to re-
place the existing Alliance manifest yard to the west of the existing Alliance IMF, and eventual automation with
straddle carriers and stacking cranes.
TranSystems is providing design and construction management of a phased expansion to the Alliance IMF utiliz-
ing Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) contract delivery. Collaboration across six to seven
TranSystems offices allowed this project to be successful, including the efforts of Chad Gartner, PE and Kameron
Boggan, EIT from the Fort Worth office.
It is time to start thinking of ASCE Fort Worth Leaders that
would be great at the Texas Section Level as an Officer. The
Section Level officer positions are listed on the website at
https://www.texasce.org/resources/volunteer. If you know
of such a leader, please contact Kimberly Cornett, P.E.,
CFM, F. ASCE at [email protected] with your nomi-
nation.
Volunteers Needed!
PG. 7 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
Student Chapter Updates
Continuing Education Opportunities
We continue to see increased in-person continuing education opportunities with several organizations!
ASCE Dallas Branch Meetings | August 9 | in-person
The Dallas Branch is back in-person . Visit https://dallasasce.org/news.php
TSPE Fort Worth Branch | August 12 | in-person
TSPE Fort Worth also caters to civil engineers. Visit www.tspefortworth.org
TFMA Technical Summit | August 24 – 27 (Bastrop, TX) | in-person
The Texas Floodplain Management Association resumes its annual fall conference in-person. Visit www.tfma.org.
ASCE Texas CECON 2021 | September 15 – 17 (San Marcos, TX) | in-person
The Texas Section will host its flagship conference again in-person. Visit www.texascecon.org for more details.
ASCE Fort Worth Branch | September 20 | in-person
The Fort Worth Branch will be back and in-person! The next Branch Year begins in September.
Visit http://branches.asce.org/ft-worth
TX-APWA Conference | October 20 – 22 (Galveston, TX) | in-person
The Texas Chapter of the American Public Works Association will host its conference in-person. Visit texas.apwa.net.
TBPELS Ethics Webinars | Ongoing
The Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors continues to host free ethics webinars on a near month-
ly basis. Register here: http://www.tbpe.texas.gov/webinars.html
ASCE Texas Section Webinars | Ongoing
Upcoming webinars: July 27 (Introduction to Dam Safety) and August 10 (What Makes an Engineer?)
Visit https://www.texasce.org/events/category/webinars/
ASCE National Webinars | Ongoing
ASCE National allows all paying members access to 10-hours of PDH webinars, with over 200 on-demand webinars
from which to choose.
Visit https://sa360.asce.org/ASCEWebApp/Benefits/Membership/Freeondemandwebinars.aspx
We are looking forward to hearing from UT Ar-
lington’s ASCE student chapter and learning
about their recent progress!
As a small student chapter, Tarleton State ASCE’s main
goal is to recruit underclassmen and encourage contin-
ued participation and commitment to ASCE. This is a
difficult task due to COVID pushing many students to
virtual platforms. However, TSU ASCE thinks recruit-
ment during the fall will be easier when things return in
-person. Additionally, the student chapter hopes to
continue their fundraising efforts in the fall to ensure
the necessary funds to participate in the 2022 Student
Symposium.
PG. 8 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
Member Referral
Program
This newsletter is distributed quarterly on the first week of February,
May, August, and November. If you have any information you would like
published in the newsletter, please contact Lindsay Lafferty, Newsletter
Chair, at [email protected].
www.asce.org/myprofile Update your contact information
www.asce.org/renewal Membership renewal
www.asce.org/join Membership applications
www.asce.org/cemagazine Civil Engineering magazine online
blogs.asce.org ASCE news online
Don’t forget to renew! The perks of being an ASCE member have gotten
better! Now your membership includes 10 free PDH on-demand webi-
nars. To see a full list of member benefits visit the ASCE website at http://
www.asce.org/member-benefits/
All you have to do is click the link and
refer up to five people to join ASCE.
ASCE will do the rest. If your refer-
rals join, they get 50% off their initial
membership dues and you get a $50
Amazon gift card. At the end of the
year, the member with the most suc-
cessful referrals will get a $500 Am-
azon gift card! Refer a friend here:
http://message.asce.org/mgam
Section Director’s Update
The Fort Worth branch was well
represented this year at the
Leadership Development Week-
end in Houston, TX. The goal of
the Leadership Development
Weekend is to empower Texas
Section members as profession-
als and volunteers by providing
relevant information, resources,
and contacts. The workshop is
intended to encourage members
to become leaders within ASCE
and in the civil engineering pro-
fession.
The Fort Worth branch had sev-
eral take-aways from the week-
end, including: a thorough understanding of ASCE and the Texas Section, as well as specific volunteer roles and re-
sponsibilities as a Section or Branch leader, knowledge regarding how to further develop critical leadership skills
through group presentations and breakout sessions, and built relationships with other Texas Leaders. Attendees in-
cluded: Allison Stamper, Bob Stevens, Derek Baker, Kimberly Cornett, Jessica Hilscher, and Travis Attanasio.
The Texas Civil Engineering Conference (CECON) offers a snapshot of the best in Texas civil engineering, while provid-
ing unique opportunities to learn and build relationships across the state and beyond, contributing to the industry’s
technical diversity as never before. Register at texascecon.org.
PG. 9 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
Branch Sponsors
PG. 10 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
For corporate sponsorships please contact Jeff Philipp, Treasurer, at [email protected].
Branch Sponsors
PG. 11 VOL. 14 ISS. 4
2020-2021
Fort Worth Branch Officers & Committee Chairs
PRESIDENT
Andrew Wilson, PE
VICE PRESIDENT/TREASURER
Andrea Taylor, PE
PAST PRESIDENT
Kameron Boggan, EIT
ASSISTANT TREASURER/AUDIT
Jeff Philipp, PE
SECRETARY
Derek Baker, PE
DIRECTORS
Johnathan Zimmerer, PE
Lindsay Lafferty, PE
YOUNGER MEMBER CHAIRS
Allison Stamper, EIT
Brandon Oliver, PE
TEXAS SECTION DIRECTOR
Kimberly Cornett, PE
MEMBERSHIP
Brandon Oliver, PE
SPECIAL MTG ARRANGEMENTS
Maria Sanders, EIT
PROGRAM
Andrea Taylor, PE
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Niraj Acharya, PE
HISTORICAL
HOSPITALITY
Steve Briceno, EIT
TSU PRACTITIONER ADVISORS
Brandon Oliver, PE
Allison Stamper, EIT
WEBMASTER/EMAIL COORD
Christian Delgado, EIT
SOCIAL MEDIA
Maria Sanders, EIT
ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
Lindsay Lafferty, PE
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICERS/
AWARDS
Kameron Boggan, EIT
OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Angie Fealy, PE
UTA PRACTITIONER ADVISORS
Karyna Uribe, EIT
Derek Baker, PE
Amanda Quisenberry, PE
amanda.quisenberry@aguirre-
fields.com
